Gastric band mum wants taxpayers to fund daughter's trip to fat camp

HEALTH CONCERN: After narrowly avoiding death over her weight, mum Sara Agintas, right, wants to help her daughter slim down [CATERS]

Two years ago Sara Agintas weighed 38 stone and was claiming benefits — but she managed to shed 16 stone after having a freebie gastric band fitted by a private clinic and desperately wants to stop her children from having the same experience.

She wants her 17-stone daughter, Hannah, to attend a fitness bootcamp but the family can't afford the £4,500 cost — and Sara wants taxpayers to fund the admission.

The mother-of-six, now 22 stone and a size 22, prides herself on her healthy home-cooked meals and gym routine.

But her teenage children Hannah, 14, and Sam, 16, are struggling to battle the bulge after being used to a diet of takeaways and Sara is at her wits' end.

“If she keeps on she will end up with no choice but to get a gastric band like me and I don't want that for her”

Sara Agintas, Hannah's mother

Sara said: "I just can't get through to Hannah. She will eat anything she can get her hands on.

"I make hearty home-cooked meals from scratch and I serve up smaller portions but Hannah will always have seconds or finish up any leftovers — even though she doesn't need it.

"She does a paper round and will spend her money on sweets if she gets the chance. If she keeps on she will end up with no choice but to get a gastric band like me and I don't want that for her."

Schoolgirl Hannah, who at 5ft 9 has a BMI of 35, said: "I know I'm a bit overweight, but I don't have as much to lose as my mum did.

"I am happy and I play basketball and football after school. Losing weight is something I want to do, and I wouldn't mind going to a boot camp.

Since shedding the pounds, Sara has turned her life around - getting a job as a passenger escort for disabled children and keeping busy as a parish councillor in her local area of Milton Keynes.

Sara added: "The gastric operation really gave me the kickstart I needed to turn my life around.

"Before I was stuck to a two seater sofa. I couldn't move or do anything and I never went out, only at night to do the weekly shop.

"It wasn't a life and my doctor gave me just one year to live. I couldn't leave my kids without a mum."

Sara lives at home with her three youngest children, Zoe, eleven, Sam, 16 and Hannah 14.

While Zoe is naturally slim, both Sam and Hannah are overweight. Sam, who weighs 18 stone, had taken to his mother's healthy meals and has joined a gym in a bid to battle the bulge and is motivated to lose weight.

"We have been offered no help or any kind or support for Hannah's weight loss by the NHS," Sara added.

"The Government have billions of pounds, and I think they should spend some money helping parents who cannot afford to send their kids to a fat camp.

"More money needs to be spent on educating young people about food and exercise, it's an investment for the future."